New Delhi: The Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has confirmed his India plans in a two word tweet “As promised”; Tesla will establish its centres in five states. This is Elon Musk’s first reaction after news broke of Tesla registering an office in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Elon Musk said in October that, “Next year for sure” in reply to a post with a photograph of a T-shirt with the message “India wants Tesla”. As per the blog in the Tesla fan site Tasmanian that he has replied to, Tesla is in talks with five states to open stores, an office, an R&D centre and a factory for production. The blog says India has a huge market for Tesla’s development, and many of the country’s richest people have been waiting for the company to come here for several years now.
“At the moment, due to the high tariffs in India, Tesla cars will be expensive. Nevertheless, if the company has its own production, it will reduce the cost of cars to an acceptable level, which will make them more affordable. Thus, at some point, Tesla cars may become affordable for the middle class as well,” says the Tesla blog.
The Karnataka government has reportedly offered land to Tesla in Tumkur on the outskirts of Bengaluru, to set up a manufacturing facility. The company registered its Indian subsidiary on Tuesday under the name “Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Ltd”.

It is expected to start operations by June. The first product to be sold will be the Model 3 sedan, said sources. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in a tweet confirmed that the carmaker was setting up an R&D unit in Bengaluru. “Karnataka will lead India’s journey towards Green Mobility. Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Tesla will soon start its operations in India with an R&D unit in Bengaluru. I welcome Elon Musk to India and Karnataka and wish him all the very best,” he wrote on Tuesday.